MONTREAL, July 8, 2010 – Today a wide range of Québec civil society groups will join the weekly anti-Israeli apartheid demonstration held by Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) to jointly announce a pan-Canadian and Québec Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Conference which will be held in Montréal from October 22 to 24, 2010.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), the Conseil Central du Montréal Métropolitain – CSN (CCMM-CSN), and Québec solidaire are among the groups collaborating on this historic conference which aims to move forward the Québec and Canadian movements for BDS against Israeli apartheid. The other groups organizing the BDS 2010 Conference have created the Québec BDS Committee and include the Coalition for Justice in Palestine – UQÀM (CJP), the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine (CJPP), Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), and Tadamon! Montreal. Apart from the aforementioned groups, the Confédération des Syndicats du Québec (CSQ), Fédération des Femmes du Québec (FFQ), the Fédération Nationale des Enseignants et Enseignantes du Québec (FNEEQ), the Ligue des Droits et Libertés, Relations magazine, and l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSE) have joined the BDS campaign, along with Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), Coalition pour la justice en Palestine-UQAM, PAJU, and Un seul État/Groupe Rezeq Faraj. Over the past year, the Québec BDS Committee was formed with the goal of bringing together all groups working on BDS in Québec to develop strategies to move the BDS movement forward in Québec.

“In response to continuing impunity of the Israeli government for its crimes, including its recent murderous attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, increasing numbers of Québec civil society groups are taking up the Palestinian call for BDS,” said Francis Lagacé of the Conseil Central du Montréal Métropolitain of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CCMM-CSN). “The October 2010 Québec BDS Conference aims to educate the general public about the Israeli government’s apartheid policies and the movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, bringing together all those groups and individuals working on BDS in Québec and Canada in order to strengthen our movement in solidarity with Palestinian human rights.”

This announcement coincides with the 5th anniversary of the Palestinian call for BDS, issued on July 9 2005 by over 170 Palestinian civil society organisations including unions, women’s groups, refugee organisations, and cultural groups. These important Quebec civil society organisations, collectively representing over 125,000 Quebecois, will be celebrating the successes of the first 5 years of the BDS movement and declaring their commitment to maintaining the momentum for BDS until Israel complies with international law and respects Palestinian human rights.

The BDS movement has 3 basic demands: that Israel end its violent and illegal occupation and colonisation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem; that Israel respect the right of return of the Palestinian refugees as stipulated in UN Resolution 194 (1948); and that Israel guarantee equality for the Palestinian citizens of the state of Israel, who make up 20% of its population.

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